AS Scotland prepare to jet off to the United States for the final leg of their World Cup preparations, former international full back Stuart Kennedy reflected on the infamous calamity that was Argentina '78 and how it had all looked so good during preparation.

Twenty years ago, Scotland took on the Auld Enemy at Hampden, with manager Ally McLeod looking for a confidence booster before the trek to South America. Although the Scots lost 1-0 in the final match of the Home Nations tournament, it was a performance which bode well for the World Cup.

''We played very well that day,'' recalls Kennedy, who nullified the threats of highly rated Englishmen Trevor Francis and Peter Barnes. ''I remember reading in the English papers that we were weak down the left but I gave both of them five yards and still caught them.''

Unfortunately, Stevie Coppell poked the winner after Alan Rough palmed a cross into his path.

''It was still a tremendous occasion,'' added the former Aberdeen defender, who was a key player in Aberdeen's championship-winning team of season 1979/80. ''There were 105,000 fans and the noise was unbelievable. The performance was the main factor and we went to Argentina with a lot of confidence.''

We all know what happened next.

''To be honest, I don't know what the licence was for the backroom staff but we never really knew anything about Peru apart from that they had a couple of over-the-hill players,'' he said.

''It was still the highlight of my career. When you play in the Scottish Cup there's a different feeling from the league. European nights are different again but playing in the World Cup beats them all.''

Domestically, the title-winning achievement is one which still brings a smile of satisfaction to his face. ''Celtic were 10 points ahead of us but we had two games in hand and also had them to play twice. We managed to beat them both times and that was a springboard for future success - the first provincial club to win the title.''

His biggest regret, no doubt, was that his career, like that of Rangers' Alan McLaren, ended long before its time. At the age of 31, Kennedy, who also won the second division title with boyhood heroes, Falkirk, and the Scottish Cup with Aberdeen in 1981/82 after beating Rangers 4-1, was forced to hang up his boots after sustaining a knee injury.

''I picked it up before the semi-final of the European Cup-winners' Cup. My studs were caught in the turf and I knew immediately that I had a bad one.''

Several operations followed to stop the knee joint disintegrating and his career came to a shuddering halt at a time when Aberdeen were steamrolling their way through Europe.

Kennedy took leave from football altogether to take stock of his plight and decided against a return as a coach. ''I was proud. I didn't want to hobble around a football pitch.''

For the last 12 years Kennedy, now 44, has been running his pub in Falkirk, which provides him ''with all the crack of the dressing room''.